abit OT here, but having no experience with the big Canon dslr's but I'm guessing its a level up in IQ due to the full frame sensor. however I'm getting awesome low light performance mating my Oly EM5ii with a pana summilux 15mm f1.7 or even a cheap pana 25mm lumix G (B&H sale @usd99 coupla years back). I've yet to find a situation where I NEED a flash.

how much better low light performance is the Canon 5D4 over my combo?

Lowlight aside, if I didn't do paid work, I wouldn't own a 5DIV. It's only a good camera depending on what you want out of it. What I like is it's reliable, I can use it in the rain, it has 2 card slots, a great lowlight AF system, I can assign separate buttons for back-button One-Shot and AI-Servo on the fly, it does an amazing job at AWB-W indoors (I no longer use WB presets or Custom with grey cards), an extra toggle on the back I assign ISO (camera doesn't leave my face to change it) and it has excellent Ev recovery surpassing the 6D and 5DIII, maybe not as good as a D810 or A7RII but it's the whole package I bought, not just DR. There are situations where I have to use flash, such as shooting interiors, I have 1-3 off camera and I followup with masking and fixing verticals in Photoshop. The other day I did a headshot for a banker and I used monolights and reflectors, followed again in Ps with skin retouching, dodging/burning etc. When I do weddings, flashes+Magmods are a staple, the 30MP and Ev latitude are welcome whether correcting, cropping, or creativity.

Between even the A7RII and the 5DIV, the jist of it starts at 13:00:

But honestly, for personal stuff, I could easily get by with an APSC or MFT ILMC and no or very little editing. Btw, the 5DIV is not a good 4K video camera, it is 1.7 crop which affects lens choice and uses huge MJPEG files, the reason being reliability again, that codec and cropping does not require active cooling in a weather sealed body. Also there are no Zebras or C-log. That's why I'm looking at Panasonic options.

Kinda in the same boat as the OP, toying with having a gimble for MFT or RX100/Action cam. Not sure at what point the thing will become "nah I can't be bothered" vs "this makes my videos so much nicer I can't live without it".

Kinda in the same boat as the OP, toying with having a gimble for MFT or RX100/Action cam. Not sure at what point the thing will become "nah I can't be bothered" vs "this makes my videos so much nicer I can't live without it".

If it's too fiddly to set up or use, it will likely collect dust too

Using the Smooth II on a phone, I can get it up and running in about 3s. Clamp it on, tighten the back bolt, turn on the gimbal, tap the Zhiyun Assistant app, "Connect" to the phone (bluetooth already on), go to "Camera" in the app and toggle it to video. Press the button on the gimbal to start/stop video, DONE. It's a bit of a hassle as you have to do this every time you turn the gimbal on because it loses connection. And it's not something you can put down while ON or the handle starts spinning wildly.

Using the Crane on a camera, it's a good minute. You have to balance the camera on the plate. After a while you'll get used to where along one of the grids you screw the camera in, then you have to adjust two arms (one vertical, one horizontal) and play with all 3 to get it floating level without the gimbal on. Turn on the gimbal, and start using the camera. Without bluetooth control, you can't start/stop the video with the gimbal, thereby your first split second is shaky because you have to touch the camera to start recording. An option is if your camera has wifi, to start it with your phone but that's a bit convoluted. It becomes an even greater hassle than above when you want to remove the camera to take pictures because you have to start the whole mounting process again to do video. So it's either photos or video, practically speaking.

btw, my younger one just walked by and burst out laughing at your avatar

Kinda in the same boat as the OP, toying with having a gimble for MFT or RX100/Action cam. Not sure at what point the thing will become "nah I can't be bothered" vs "this makes my videos so much nicer I can't live without it".

If it's too fiddly to set up or use, it will likely collect dust too

didnt want to comment further until my Crane-M arrive & arrive it did early this morning. luckily, I'm working later today so I got a chance to fiddle with it abit.

1st off, u really need a small tripod to hold the gimbal straight up as that will help with balancing it with the cam.

3rdly, it comes with 2x 26500high capacity batteries so its rated for 12hrs of usage - cant complain about that. if longer time is needed, generic 26500 batteries can be easily had.

havent really gotten deep into it as yet but it seems to work well. I really like the almost to the ground inverted mode as that is something I cant do without a gimbal. I think I'll be using this as much as possible & more importantly, I do believe I'm going have fun at it as well.

I screw a tripod plate onto the bottom of my Crane handle and put it on a low tripod, it's definitely a lot easier to mount the camera that way. Or, I take the tripod plate/head off the legs and screw it directly, using the app, you can have a lot of fun doing a panoramic timelapse while on the tripod.

I screw a tripod plate onto the bottom of my Crane handle and put it on a low tripod, it's definitely a lot easier to mount the camera that way. Or, I take the tripod plate/head off the legs and screw it directly, using the app, you can have a lot of fun doing a panoramic timelapse while on the tripod.

mine came with a low tripod stand to assist with camera mounting - I'm assuming the seller bundled it as it wasnt included in any zhiyun literature. the dual grip attachment does seem pretty cool esp if one needs to film for an extended time.

anyway to mount the crane-m on a monopod with legs? like the manfrotto x series?

looking for a portable setup with stability for travel use

dont know how portable the Crane-M is on a monopod but absolutely, you can mount the Crane-M on any tri/monopod so long as you take the extra height of the Crane-M into the equation. the Crane-M (& I assuming most if not all) gimbals are compatible with 1/4" tripod mounts.

anyway to mount the crane-m on a monopod with legs? like the manfrotto x series?

looking for a portable setup with stability for travel use

I did this DIY hack. Manfrotto's Fluidtech is $150, the clone is less than $20 on eBay. A monopod is great way to do boom shots. I have the 680B and the top screw is an outer ring that can be pushed down revealing a narrower screw that fits into the Crane.

I actually use the hack more when I do realty shots, attaching a speedlite, putting it in tight or strategic spots. I can then pick it up and light paint too, a trick I learned off Mike Kelley who uses the real Manfrotto base.

Funny, a few years ago I bought a Luxi III recommended by Disney blogger Tom Bricker, I now prefer a Manfrotto Befree as my travel tripod but sometimes I use the Luxi III with the Crane screwed on to initially balance my camera. Enjoy your vacay!

my next one for the action cam will have to be light, not too bulky and be waterproof + wearable...I get the feeling the Zhiyun will fall apart after a trip or three.

but to answer your question...it really depends. Obviously a gimbal is invaluable for run and gun...but if its a hassle to set-up, too heavy then yes it'll collect dust. I rarely use my DSLR one that weighs over a kilo.